FIR against schools likely for avoiding census duty

Avoiding census duty is likely to cost some private schools dearly. The authorities are in the process of invoking some provisions of the Census Act, 1948 and registering FIRs against heads of such schools.

Officials said that the Commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) Mehtab Singh Sehrawat, who is also Principal Census Officer for Faridabad Urban has given the green signal for strict action against such schools and colleges which avoided sparing some staff for carrying out the census exercise in Faridabad.

“Yes, we are contemplating action against heads and principals of such schools and colleges who do not co-operate with us in conducting census exercise smoothly here,” Mehtab Singh Sehrawat, MCF Commissioner and Principal Census Officer for Faridabad Urban told Hindustan Times.

About a dozen schools are on the firing line of census authorities. “About a dozen private schools in Faridabad are going to face action as they have not provided us details of their staff strength, which we wanted to deploy for census duties,” Lalita Prasad, Census Officer, Directorate of Census Operations, Haryana told Hindustan Times.

Prasad said he personally called on some police officers in Faridabad on Thursday to discuss registering FIRs against heads/principals of such schools under Section 11(1) a of the Census Act, 1948.

The Act carries three year's imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,000, Prasad said.

The census exercise in Faridabad will commence on May 1 and last till June 15.